Hidden
by applepumpkinpatch
Summary: Relationships are hard. Forming them, maintaining them, and surviving them is difficult work. Bonds between family, friends, and lovers will all be tested in this unwinding mystery surrounding a young woman whose life is turned upside down on the day of her wedding. Now, she must discover who she is, what she can do, and how to protect those she loves with darkness closing in fast.
1. Prologue

Hidden

By ApplePumkinPatch

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, items, or places that you recognize. They all belong to the talented Mr. Tolkien. I am simply borrowing these elements to tell this story.

Thanks for beginning this ride with me. Here we go.

Hidden

_It's funny, the things you remember after something bad happens. The smallest and the most seemingly insignificant of moments which have passed you by without pause suddenly begin to replay in slow motion__,__ over and over again__,__ with torturous detail. The errors of your ignorance light up like beacons, begging you see the reasons you should have stayed a little longer__,__ and ignored whatever you thought was more important at the time._

_The moments that you took for granted have become cruel manifestations. Cruel manifestations that leave you powerless over the things that you could have changed in the span of seconds and that will forever haunt you with the question of "what if?" The past is clearer to you now than when it was in the moment, and the things you didn't think you saw are eternally branded upon your memory with blinding clarity._

_You cannot change the past you begin to realize, and yet every time these moments blur your vision you cannot help but try and undo what has or has not been done; an act that will forever result in a lingering failure. It is a failure that burns at your soul each time you walk past a familiar room, put on a particular piece of clothing, or look at a certain __image__. It is a failure which accuses you of all that you should have done but didn't, and it does so __accompanied__by the music of__ scornful and sarcastic laughter._

_You will never forget. You will never make amends._

Prologue

"Will he recover?"

The tone of the Elvenking's question held little to no emotion. There was a tinge of disdain, but to anyone who was unfamiliar with King Thranduil, he would have seemed to be completely indifferent about whether the figure lying on the bed in front of him would survive the night. His crossed arms and passive expression also gave indication about his lack of concern, but Naryn knew better.

"I believe he will" Naryn replied as he pulled the blanket up over the unconscious dwarf. "He sustained several serious injuries, but he should recover. It will be a slow recovery no doubt, but with time, there should be no lasting effects." Naryn could tell immediately that his King was less than pleased about the 'slow recovery' he spoke of, but he also knew that Thranduil needed answers from the dwarf, and so recovery was the response that had been hoped for. As the kingdom's head healer, Naryn had known Thranduil for centuries, and he could see past the cold exterior that the King was putting on. He could see the feelings that the King was successfully hiding from everyone else. They were feelings of bitterness, anger, frustration, and fear.

A knock on the door interrupted their conversation and it was followed by the entry of a single elven guard. "Your highness" the guard began with a slight bow that Thranduil did not turn his gaze from the dwarf to see. "The other prisoner has awoken. She seems more willing to cooperate. She has asked to speak with you again."

Thranduil was unimpressed upon hearing this. Without acknowledging the information that had just been given to him, Thranduil instead posed a question to the guard. "And my son? What news do you bring me of him?"

It was a question that the guard had dreaded being asked. A surge of panic flowed through him as a silence lingered after the question had been posed. Naryn looked to the guard with an expression of sympathy, as he understood how difficult it could be to deliver bad news to the King. Especially when it was bad news regarding the welfare of the Prince. It was probably only a second or two before the guard's lack of response finally earned him the eyes of the King, and it was a stare that made him want to sink into a deep, dark hole in the ground. Knowing that silence was not going to be an acceptable answer, the guard finally forced himself to speak the words that he did not want to say.

"No news yet, your highness. However we have not stopped in our search. With a little bit of luck, we have no doubt that we shall find him soon."

The guard was right. This was not what the King wanted to hear. If emotions were hidden from Thranduil's features before, they were clear as day now. Rage blazed in his cerulean eyes as he took a step towards the guard. "Luck?" he repeated with disgust. "I ask you for news about the well being of your Prince, and you tell me that you are relying on luck as a means of finding him?"

"My King..." Naryn began, hoping to provide some assistance to the guard, but Thranduil ignored him.

"Luck is for the weak and incompetent" the King continued. "Tell me, are you weak and incompetent?"

"No" replied the guard.

"Are your soldiers weak and incompetent?"

"No, your highness."

"Good. Then you will disregard this notion of luck. You will go out there and perform your duty. You will go out there and you will find my son. Is that understood?"

"Yes, your highness." With another quick bow, the guard quickly left the room.

Thranduil gave one last glance at the unconscious dwarf as he addressed Naryn once again. "I am to be alerted immediately when he wakes up. And he does not leave this room without my consent under any circumstances. He is not even allowed to _die_ without my consent, do you understand?"

Naryn nodded. "I understand" he replied as he then performed a rather bold gesture by placing a reassuring hand on the King's shoulder. The look of surprise shone in Thranduil's eyes for less than a second at the action. Naryn's understanding was not just of the orders that he had been given, but also as to why they had been given and how. It was a mutual understanding between the King and healer, and for the briefest of moments, Thranduil embraced the offered comfort.

"If I am needed, I will be in the dungeons. I have a prisoner to interrogate." Naryn nodded and returned to his work as Thranduil exited the room and made his way down the hall towards the holding cells.

* * *

><p>Kalina's head was throbbing as she forced herself to sit upright in the small cell. Her vision was far less cloudy than it had been when she had passed through the gates of Mirkwood, and she could tell, by the bandages on her arms and torso, that she had been tended to while she had been unconscious. The physical pain had lessened, that much was certain, but Kalina was still haunted by the emotional pain of what had happened within the last twelve hours. The horror still lingered. The anger still lingered. And most of all, the guilt still lingered.<p>

"I understand that you are ready to talk" The commanding voice of the King, from outside her cell door, interrupted her train of thought. Kalina immediately rose from the bed she sat on and moved to stand in front of him, all the while ignoring the nausea that the move caused her to feel.

"Yes." The shaky response came out with more than a tinge of desperation in it. Kalina could feel the tears begin to pour down her cheeks as she looked up into the eyes of the elf in front of her. She was scared of him. Scared of the anger he radiated. Scared of the way he looked down at her. Scared of what his reaction would be when he found out about what had happened. Scared of the answer he would give her to the question she forced herself to ask. "How is my friend?

"It seems that you are mistaken as to how this is going to work. You do not get to ask the questions. I will be the one asking the questions."

"Your Highness, please.." Kalina did not get to finish her plea, as Thranduil continued to speak over her as though he did not hear her at all.

"My questions are few, and very simple, so that even the dullest of minds may understand clearly the information that I am after. "

"You want to know where your son is." Interruption was contagious it seemed, and rather than being annoyed with this, Thranduil let out the first smile he had in a long time.

"Yes." The reply was simple, complex, cold, demanding, and desperate all at the same time.

Kalina wanted to give an answer that would please him, but she knew that she could not. She took a deep breath and held back any of the tears that wanted to escape. "I do not know where your son is." Kalina was both surprised and impressed with how evenly she had spoken this response. She hadn't shaken and shrunk away from the King this time, even though she desperately wanted to. Her hysterics hadn't worked since she had first encountered Thranduil and his guards, so she knew if this conversation was going to go anywhere, she'd have to hold herself together. It was taking a lot of effort though, and she had a feeling that not saying the names of her friends was helping a tad. Despite that, the response she got from Thranduil made it even harder to keep composed.

"Then this conversation is over. You will stay here, and you will rot away in that cell."

"Wait!" Kalina's composure started breaking as the King started to walk away. "Please."

Thranduil paused, and turned his head slightly so that Kalia could see his profile as she grasped the bars frantically. "You claim not to know where my son is, yet you somehow managed to find your way into my kingdom using a path that only my son or I may have unlocked for you. I assume it was my son, as you were found with one of his knives on you." Thranduil didn't bother mentioning that the knife was covered in blood, and his fear that it might belong to his missing heir.

Memories started to flood back for Kalina of the last time she had seen the Prince, and she felt her hands start to shake. "Please," she began again, keeping her voice as steady as she could muster. "My friend was badly hurt. Please, you have to tell me if he is alright." He had to be alright. He had to.

That did it. If Thranduil had been trying to keep his composure, he abandoned the task entirely.

"I do not have to tell you anything!" He declared as he moved back to the cell door with such speed that it caused Kalina to move backwards, away from him. "I do not have to tell you if my healers were able to save his miserable life. I do not have to tell you if he died in agony." Kalina's eyes began to tear up as he spoke to her with a voice filled with complete repulsion. "Something has become of my son, who certainly provided you some sort of aid to get into those tunnels. And rather than tell me the truth about his condition or whereabouts, you stand there and lie to me, pretending to know nothing. After which, you then try to demand that I provide you answers about the condition of that stupid creature you dragged along with you."

That did it. Kalina abandoned the task of trying to keep her composure entirely.

"That stupid creature has a name." She moved up against the bars again, and she finally found the courage to look Thranduil dead in the eye. "His name is Gimli, and he is one of Legolas' dearest friends." She knew immediately that saying their names out loud had broken her resolve to stay calm. She could also see that Thranduil recognized the change in her as well by the way he now studied her reddening face.

"Gimli has to be okay. He has to, because I promised Legolas that he would be." She was crying openly now. "I am not lying to you, I swear. Yes, Legolas did help us get to the tunnels, but he did not follow. He couldn't. We were ambushed and he was trapped. He told me to run, to get Gimli to safety. I lost sight of him. I didn't want to leave him there..."

"But you did." It was not a question. Thranduil was accusing her, and his expression was unreadable again.

Kalina's tears stopped as she nodded. She accepted responsibility for her actions. For all of it. "Yes. I left Legolas there, and they took him."

Took him. Thranduil rose a brow at this. Not killed; they took him. "Who are _they_?"

"The creatures that are after me. They've been hunting me for months. Legolas and Gimli have been trying to help me figure out why, but so far the answers have been few and far between." It was true, and while Thranduil could not pinpoint exactly what it was that told him so, he knew she was telling him the truth now.

The King considered the girl in front of him for a moment before he spoke to her again. "These creatures.." he began slowly, "why, if they were after you, would they take my son instead? And where would they have taken him?" A sinking feeling began to fill Thranduil's chest as he considered the darkness that had haunted his heart as of late. Despite the growing peace that had resulted in Sauron's defeat, Thranduil had a sense that not all evil had been extinguished, and he feared that his son had put himself in the path of it yet again.

Kalina's features nakedly expressed her regret and guilt. "I have no idea. This whole situation stems from a very long story, and sadly, there is so much of this story that I still do not know."

A long story? "Then I suggest you begin this story now" Thranduil insisted.

Kalina nodded and took a deep breath, but as she was about to speak, the King spoke again. "The dwarf will live." She looked up at him as he said this, and for the first time since coming to Mirkwood, she felt a small sense of relief. She had kept her promise to Legolas. And while it didn't bring the elf back to her safely, it eased a bit of the worry tugging on her heart.

"Now, I will accept no more delay. You say that Legolas has been taken. His life is no doubt as risk. I would know everything. Start from the beginning."

Kalina wiped her eyes, and did as she was told. "It all started about three months ago. On the day I met your son." Kalina paused briefly as she met the steel eyes of the King that stood in front of her with his arms crossed expectantly. She braced herself to tell the story of what had led her to this jail cell, with one friend laying wounded, and theother, the elf she had come to adore,missing.

"This story begins like a lot of them do. With a wedding. My wedding."


	2. Just Around the River Bend

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, items, or places that you recognize. They all belong to the talented Mr. Tolkien. I am simply borrowing some of these elements to tell this story.

I also do not hold claim to any characters or songs owned by Disney. I am just borrowing one of the songs as inspiration for this chapter. As you will learn, each chapter from here on out shall be named after a song that I feel best suits the mood within it.

Shout out: Thank you to everyone who gave this story a chance. Your support means a lot! It has taken me a long time to get back to posting more chapters, but finally everything is back on track. This chapter begins Part One of Hidden, where we get to meet a few more characters (hint, hint – one might be our missing Prince), and we'll go to back the beginning of Kalina's tale.

Now, my friends, let us continue.

Hidden

Part One

Chapter 1 – Just Around the River Bend

"You look absolutely lovely, my dear."

Kalina smiled at hearing these words as she looked down at her gown.

"Honestly, no one has ever looked more beautiful."

"Aww, Maggie, thank…" was the beginning of Kalina's reply, before she was abruptly cut off by the other young girl in the room.

"Really, mom? You think so?" The voice belonged to Ainsley, Maggie's daughter, and Kalina's soon to be sister in law. "I panicked when Kalina picked out this dress. And in yellow of all colours!"

"Well next time you'll know to trust me" Kalina cut in with a cold expression. "After all, like your mom said, no one has ever looked more beautiful than you do today."

Ainsley's face immediately lit up. "It still would have looked better in teal. But, thank you."

Maggie laughed, and ushered her daughter out of the room, insisting that she help make sure all the guests were getting seated properly. She then proceeded to help fluff Kalina's dress. "It was very nice of you to ask Ainsley to be in the wedding. The girl has such low self-esteem, and she really looks up to you."

Kalina fought the urge to roll her eyes. Ainsley did not have low self-esteem, and she certainly didn't look up to anyone. She was just a spoiled little princess that would have spent the entire day in fits of attention-grabbing antics had she not been included. Still, Kalina knew it was better to try and form a "friendly" bond with the sister of her betrothed.

"It's such a shame that you have no sisters of your own" Maggie continued, as she helped fit the veil on top of Kalina's head. "I have four, and we did everything together. It was nice to have a set of friends that couldn't ditch you, even if you begged them to. We always wanted Ainsley to have a sister, but at least she had Nigel. Honestly, siblings are a gift to be cherished."

"So I've heard" Kalina replied, smiling again. Nigel had never referred to his little sister as gift. But still, she couldn't deny that there was some truth in Maggie's words. "Thank you, Maggie," she began, changing the subject off of the attention-grabber for a second. "Thank you for all of your help with everything. It means a lot."

"It's my pleasure, sweetheart. After all, I'm sure that Nigel was of hardly any use during all of this. His mind is always off in one of those fairy tale books he likes so much. I'm actually surprised that that he came back to Earth long enough to find a woman of his own."

Kalina forced a smile at this. Yes, it was true that Nigel was constantly wrapped up in fantasy worlds. He was a scholar, studying to be a university professor of science fiction and fantasy literature; and when his mind wasn't in one of the books he read over and over again, he usually sat in front of his computer, playing some sort of fantasy video game. Still, she liked that about him. He cared so much about the characters he read about, or interacted with in the games he played. She found it so amusing how often he would try to get her excited about them as well, regardless of how much she resisted. He made her laugh. He was a kind man, and he was one of her dearest friends. She loved him for that, and that was why, when he had proposed, she had said yes.

Yet, still there was a tinge of doubt.

"See you out there, my dear" said Maggie, as she left the room, and left Kalina to her own musings.

The young bride looked at herself in the mirror as she pondered why a lump had formed in the pit of her stomach. It had started about a week ago, and she hadn't been able to shake it since. It was a sinking feeling, that kept asking her difficult questions about her relationship with Nigel. "Is he really the one?" or "Does your life really make you happy?" it would ask. Today, was no exception. "Would he hate me if I changed my mind about all of this?"

She shook her head, and tried to ban the questions from her mind. It all had to just be a case of cold feet. Cold feet were natural. Cold feet were normal. Yes, what she was feeling was completely normal.

Kalina smiled finally, as she took in her reflection. She cleaned up pretty well if she said so herself. Her long dark hair, that was usually tied up in a pony tail, hung freely in curls down her shoulders, and her long gown framed her form in a flattering way that her typical jeans and hoodie did not. Her make-up was subtle, and allowed her freckles to shine through, and she wore no jewellery except for the small necklace of a willow tree that she never took off. She felt feminine and pretty. Like a Cinderella at the ball or something. That feeling is what inspired her to immediately pick up her phone and start her playlist of Disney music; and right as "Just Around the River Bend" began to play, she heard a knock on the door.

"Kali, can I come in?"

It was Nigel. But before Kalina could turn around and object, he had come in and quietly closed the door behind him.

"Wow" he said with a smile. "You look beautiful."

"Nigel!" Kalina scolded. "You're not allowed to be in here. The groom isn't suppose to see the bride before the wedding. It's bad luck." There were those knots in her stomach again.

"No, I think what's bad luck is the fact that you're in here alone, listening to a song about a girl wondering if she should get married or not." Nigel's smirk was infectious, and for a moment, Kalina forgot all about the worries she had been feeling. "Seriously, It's worrying. She doesn't end up marrying the guy, and then he ends up dying later on. Not exactly a great omen for the first day of the rest of our lives together."

"You did stay awake during the movie!" Kalina exclaimed with a laugh. "I could have sworn that you fell asleep."

"Trust me, of all the chick flick movies you have made me watch over the years, that one wasn't half bad. It wasn't accurate, but it wasn't a bad film."

The couple shared another smile and sat down beside one another on the couch. Silence lingered for a couple of minutes before Nigel spoke again. "How are you doing?"

Kalina was a bit surprised by the question. "What do you mean?" She knew what he meant.

Nigel sighed and ran his hand through his hair. Kalina watched his floppy curls bounce as he did this. "I mean how are you doing?" he repeated seriously. "You don't seem as happy about today as I expected."

Kalina took his hand, and offered a comforting smile. "I am just feeling a bit overwhelmed" she admitted. "I love you, but I think the whole 'our life begins today' idea is throwing me a little."

"I know what you mean" he agreed with a chuckle.

"You have cold feet too?" Kalina asked. Relieved a little to hear this.

"Of course I have cold feet" Nigel replied. "But I'm honestly satisfied with our life together. So I'm sure everything can only get better from here on out."

This wasn't exactly an example of Nigel's best when it came to providing comfort. Kalina sighed again. "You're satisfied?" she questioned. It wasn't the word she had hoped for.

"Sure I am" Nigel answered, unaware of her disappointment. "Why wouldn't I be? You're my best friend, Kali." This answer should have made her smile, but she found herself having to force it again. "Why? Aren't you?" It was a fair question.

"I am satisfied, Nigel. You're my best friend too." It was an honest answer.

"Good" he replied, as he placed a kiss upon her brow and stood up. "Oh, and by the way, your uncle showed up."

Kalina frowned. "Uncle? I don't have an Uncle."

Nigel shrugged. "Then he's a party crasher. Not to worry, I'll sick Ainsley on him" he added with a laugh. He opened the door, but paused when Kalina placed a hand on his forearm.

"I love you, Nigel" she said earnestly.

"Me too" he mouthed cutely and left the room.

The chiming of the clock alerted Kalina that she needed to finish getting ready, and make her way into the crowded church. She looked down at her engagement ring and admired it fondly. Yes, she did love Nigel. He was a better man than she probably deserved, and he did make her happy. There may not have been fireworks between them, and he might have used the word satisfied to define how he felt about their life together, but still, he was someone who she could not picture her life without. So, after taking a deep breath, she smiled and placed her veil on.

"There we go" Kalina said calmly, as she then picked up her phone to change the song that was playing to one a little more lovey-dovey, when suddenly there was another knock on the door. "I'll be out in a second" she called out.

"It's just your Uncle Eli, my dear" came the voice on the other side of the door.

"Uncle Eli?" She replied, more to herself than anything. She shook her head. So much for Ainsley getting rid of the party crashers. She made towards the door, adjusting her dress as she did so. "I'm sorry, but I think you're mistaken" she said as she opened the door and came face to face with the middle-aged man on the other side. He was haggard looking, but you could tell that he had once been handsome. He wore a long black overcoat, and mud soaked boots that made her instinctively take a step backwards from him to protect her white dress. He smiled at her, and suddenly the sinking feeling appeared in her stomach again. Only this time, she knew it wasn't cold feet. It was something else. Something more akin to fear.

"I've spent a long time looking for you my dear, Rathewyn."

"What?" Kalina was baffled. "Look, I think you're confusing me with someone else" she continued, but was cut off as the man reached out and placed one of is scabby hands on her shoulder.

Flash. That was the only way to describe what happened next. A surge of light exploded from the place where he had touched her skin, and while she felt no pain, Kalina did find herself thrown backwards as the world around her went completely white.

.

.

.

The next thing she knew when she opened her eyes, she found herself looking up into a canopy of branches and foliage. With a grumble, Kalina forced herself to sit upwards, only to have her head jerked back as he veil caught hold of a nearby plant. It hurt, and Kalina let out a curse, as she awkwardly pulled the veil out of her hair and loosened it from the plant as well. It was torn, and dirty now. "Aww, you see, this is why I'm not allowed to have nice things" she whined, as she took in the rest of her new surroundings.

She was definitely in the woods. "How in the world did I get here?" she asked out loud, wondering if she was dreaming. She found herself stumbling slightly as she made her was across the forest floor in the high heels she was wearing. She debated taking them off, but her mind switched thoughts as she noticed that the willow tree necklace that she wore around her neck had started to glow green. She watched it for a moment, and became certain that she had to be dreaming as it suddenly shattered into what looked like green glitter and began to float in front of her in a cloud-like formation.

"Well, it's never done that before" she joked to herself, as she felt drawn to reach out and touch it. She didn't get the chance. For as soon as she reached out her hand, the cloud started to move away from her with great speed. It was as though it were a green cloud of green glitter bugs that dared not allow her near them.

Kalina rose an eyebrow, and glanced around her skeptically. This was certainly the strangest dream she had had in a while. "It must be the wedding nerves" she thought, before making the decision to remove her shoes, and chase after the glitter cloud that was still moving further and further away from her.

She couldn't help but laugh as she chased the cloud out of the trees and towards a rather large river. The cloud continued its path along the riverbank, and she did her best to keep up. She could not help but notice that she was starting to lose the cloud as it began to move uphill and she struggled to make her way after it amidst the thorny bushes and tall grasses. "Good thing this is a dream" she thought, as she noted how filthy and torn up her gown was becoming during the chase.

As Kalina finally arrived to the top of the hill she found herself blocking out the glare of the sun with her hand as she searched the land below for her green cloud. It didn't take her long to spot it. It was moving down the hill towards something. Well, towards someone. At the bottom of the hill, atop a white stallion, rode a rider with long blonde hair. The rider had a child behind them on the horse as well, and they rode away from her with great speed. She wanted to call out, as it looked like her cloud was heading straight for them. Sure enough, within seconds, her green cloud collided with its mark, and disappeared into the rider's back.

"Wha.." Kalina didn't have time to finish her question as the collision caused the rider to get slammed forward, causing the horse to startle, and the child to fall off the horse entirely. Kalina gasped as her hands dropped her shoes and covered her mouth in horror.

The rider spun around, and she realized that the rider was a male. A handsome one, but an angry one. He spun around and immediately spotted her at the top of the hill. He glared, obviously upset with being struck and having his companion fall to the ground. Within the span of a second, he revealed a bow and arrow, with the latter aimed directly at her. Kalina's eyes widened. "NO" she screamed out, as she made to run, only to trip on the tattered veil she had been dragging.

She knew what was coming. And it felt like slow motion as she felt her footing slip and she began to tumble down the hill towards the armed rider.

It might have been comical, had she seen it in a movie or something; but in real life...or at least in a real life dream...it was quite different. It hurt. A lot. She hated herself now for choosing a dress with a skirt full of satin puffs. It made her slide down the hill all the more slippery, and regardless of how many times Kalina tried to stop herself from tumbling, all she did was scratch up her hands and let out another yelp. It felt like she was falling for an eternity, when it was probably no more than fifteen or twenty seconds. She felt her eyes widen as she noticed that she was heading in a slight diagonal now, caused by her grasping at weeds during her plummet, and from the looks of it, she was now headed towards an even steeper fall into the rocky river below.

"Oh for the love of..." Kalina grumbled. "Please wake up. Please wake up" she cried out before finding herself with a mouthful of weeds as she continued to tumble.

Kalina closed her eyes, praying once more for the fall to end, and just as she felt her feet go over the edge, she felt the strong pair of hands that caught hold of her flailing arms and pulled her upright to a standing position. It happened so quickly, that it took her a second to even realize what had occurred. She now stood on the edge of the small drop, looking down into the rocky water with her heart racing a mile a minute. She took several deep breaths, hoping to calm herself down, and as she did so, she began to realize that she was leaning up against something. Or rather, someone. She could feel the steady rising and falling of the sturdy chest she leant against, and rather than turning around to see the face of her rescuer, she simply let her head fall backwards, and sure enough, the back of her head sat perfectly on the shoulder of the man behind her.

He looked puzzled by this action, and stared down at her in confusion. The first thing she noted was how stunning his bright blue eyes were. They had speckles of grey in them, that seemed to sparkle with question as he rose an eyebrow at her. He was unquestionably handsome; almost a spitting image of someone she had seen in a magazine or something. His blonde hair hung loosely around his face, and his high cheekbones gave him a sense of regality. She couldn't help but simultaneously smile and blush as she looked up at him.

"Hello" was all she could say, in a voice that sounded almost drunk. The dream was certainly taking its toll on her.

His eyebrow stayed risen. "Hello" he copied.

"I'm sorry that my necklace hit you." This was a silly comment, she knew that, and sure enough, it earned her an even more confused look from the man, whose eyes then moved down to his other shoulder. Kalina allowed her eyes to follow his, and she found herself moving to stand on her own, now directly facing him. Her eyes never left his shoulder though, because it was now glowing green underneath the shirt her wore. Instinctively, she reached out to place her hand on his shoulder, but he backed away slightly, and his face now wore the expression of a glare.

"What magic is this?" he asked, and Kalina met his eyes again. She wanted to explain to him, but all of a sudden they were interrupted, as another figure joined them. It was the 'child' that had fallen from the horse. Only, it wasn't a child at all. It was a small bearded man with a gruff voice, approaching with an axe in hand.

"Now see here, lass" the small man began, but Kalina had stopped listening. She shook her head and turned around. She could vaguely hear the two figures behind her speaking, but she ignored them. She looked at the river again, before closing her eyes. "Wake up" she begged herself. "Wake up."

Nothing happened.

"Wake up. Wake up."

Again, nothing.

Kalina felt tears appear in her eyes. Taking another deep breath, she slowly turned around and faced the blond man once more. He looked at her with a mixture of confusion and concern.

"My lady?" he began softly. "Are you alright?"

Kalina shook her head as tears fell down her cheeks now. She bit down on her lip as she tried to make sense of what was happening to her. It was proving impossible.

"Why won't I wake up?"


End file.
